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Shank won’t appeal Grand-Am penalty

January 31, 2013

Michael Shank Racing has elected not to appeal the penalty doled out after its car from the Rolex 24 was found to have an illegal engine. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Michael Shank Racing, which twice rallied from seven laps down last weekend to finish third in the 51st annual Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona sports-car endurance race, won’t appeal the penalties levied against team and drivers after a post-race inspection revealed irregularities in the Roush Yates V8 engine in his Ford Riley.

Following a post-race inspection of the number 60 car, which was the race-defending champion, Grand-Am determined that the team was in violation of Section 4-1.1 (“Grand-Am will specify components and performance levels in the Specific Car Regulations that must be adhered to”) of the Grand-Am Rule Book, the team was notified on Thursday that it would penalize the driver, team, and manufacturer points earned from the result, as well as a cash fine. The team was able to retain the third-place spot, though.

The infraction was based on how the motor was set up for the testing process, Shank said. Grand-Am released no specifics on the violation. The team has decided not to appeal the decision and will focus on the upcoming event at the Circuit of the Americas March 1 and 2.

“As much as we are frustrated with the penalty, we believe that pursuing an appeal would not change the outcome, and that we should just move forward from here,” said Shank. “Fighting this will only take time and resources away from improving this process in the future.”

Shank also took to Twitter following the penalty to express both his disappointment with the penalty, and also his support of the Rolex Sports Car Series.

“I want to be able to show up at Daytona International Speedway each spring and be able to run flat out from practice to the race without fearing that we will get engine penalties,” said Shank. “Winning the Rolex 24 should come down to the engineering, driving talent, and strategy -- not who can win the race on the dyno in Concord (NASCAR’s R&D facility). Obviously this entire process has been very frustrating, but just like we did in the 24, we will have to put it behind us, embrace all of our partners, and get to work on clawing our points back starting at COTA.”